Chapter 43 - A Den of Snakes and Rats

In unison, the expressions on both Xia Yan and Jiang Su Su’s faces changed minutely. The ladies had already started quietly chatting amongst one another.

“What uncouth girl from the mountain wilderness? Her bearing is akin to someone who has been brought up in the palace.”

“Exactly, she’s comparable to the Second Jiang Miss, she is nowhere as bad as they say.”

“Her appearance is good, and she is even more vibrant than the Second Miss.”

For the first time, everyone’s attention was not on Jiang Su Su. Jiang Ruan was still fully focused on walking onwards, with no discernible change in her expression. She had a slight smile on her face, as if it were not the first time she had visited the Shen fu. Her calm and collected air caused those who had originally wanted to watch the potential fireworks to take notice of her and give her due respect. The face of the round-faced lady had turned black. In contrast, the lady with the high cheekbones was continually nodding.

Shen Ming Zhu, who was accompanying them, was thoroughly incensed, and glared fiercely at Jiang Ruan. She walked over and grabbed Jiang Su Su’s hand. And without giving Jiang Ruan a second glance, she walked over to the women’s seating area.

A casual family banquet in an elite household in ancient China – illustration by an ancient artist for Chinese novel Dream in the Red Chamber.

Xia Yan kept up a slight smile, as if she had not noticed anything, and laughingly chatted with Shen furen as they seated themselves. Although Jiang Li was naturally arrogant, she had several friends among the young ladies present. In order to deliberately isolate Jiang Ruan, she dragged Jiang Dan off with her, even though she hardly ever gave her the time of day under normal circumstances. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Jiang Ruan was left standing by herself at the side of the hall, and did not know where she should sit.

Although the ladies and young misses present all marvelled at Jiang Ruan’s looks and manner, they were all present by the invitation of Shen furen, and naturally also had to maintain their good relations with the Jiang fu. The present furen of the Jiang fu was Xia Yan, not Zhao Mei. Those who understood which way the wind blew would not take the initiative to help Jiang Ruan out of her predicament, not to mention the fact that Jiang Ruan’s appearance was so magnificent, any young lady sitting next to her would only be in her shadow. Thus, in a moment, only the one who had been alienated from the others remained.

Lu Zhu and Lian Qiao stood behind Jiang Ruan in low spirits, thinking that this visit to Shen fu, contrary to expectation, had caused a loss of face and unmerited embarrassment for Jiang Ruan.

However, it was precisely at this moment that a clear and melodious voice came from the women’s area. “Eldest Miss Jiang, do come and sit here.”

A beautiful young lady stood in the women’s area, wearing a blue cotton jacket patterned with flowers. Her skin was a little dark, but she looked very pretty, and a heroic spirit was faintly evident in her features. Jiang Ruan had also known this young lady in her previous life. Her name was Lin Zi Xiang, and she was the eldest daughter of Lin Tai Shi. She was an extremely righteous and principled lady who became the Third Prince’s cefei[1] in Jiang Ruan’s previous life. Although Lin Tai Shi had little real power in the Great Jin Dynasty, he held a fairly influential position. However, Lin Zi Xiang had not been able to gain the Third Prince’s favour, and the situation worsened when Lin Tai Shi, to his utter dejection, was dismissed from his position by the emperor. The Third Prince was a beast in man’s form, and he collected a whole harem of women. Lin Zi Xiang lost the child she was carrying due to the scheming of his favoured concubine. Unable to bear the insult when the Third Prince defended that favoured concubine, Lin Zi Xiang took a knife and killed both herself and the concubine.

[1] ce fei ( 侧妃 ) – literally, a ‘side’ concubine, who can be considered the secondary wife of a prince. More .

In her previous life, the palace ladies had treated Lin Zi Xiang’s situation as something of a joke, and Jiang Ruan’s heart had always ached for her. The heavens were indeed unfair, that such a strong and spirited lady should come to a tragic end, and still be talked about after her death. During a palace banquet in her previous life, Jiang Ruan had once caught sight of Lin Zi Xiang from afar in the guibin[2] area. Jiang Ruan’s attention had been drawn to the plainly dressed Lin Zi Xiang, who was melancholic in the midst of a flock of gorgeously attired, chattering ladies. They were both in similar circumstances, married to people who were unwilling to be married, and imprisoned in narrow cages for a lifetime.

[2] gui bin ( 贵嫔 ) – an imperial concubine, one of the middle ranks.

Jiang Ruan smiled at Lin Zi Xiang and walked over to sit by her. Lin Zi Xiang nodded at her, and Jiang Ruan whispered, “Many thanks.”

“I can never get used to this kind of behaviour,” Lin Zi Xiang said. “These wealthy aristocrats and nobles always pretend to be so righteous, yet have no qualms making things thoroughly difficult for a young lady.”

Such sophisticated words coming from such young lips. Jiang Ruan took in the serious expression on Lin Zi Xiang’s face and could not help laughing. Her opinion of Lin Zi Xiang went up several notches.

Jiang Ruan’s interaction with Lin Zi Xiang caused Jiang Li to seethe with hatred. In the midst of their conversation, Jiang Su Su and Shen Ming Zhu also observed this scene and frowned. “What talent does that Jiang Ruan have? Lin Zi Xiang is usually so aloof, but here she is talking to Jiang Ruan!”

Jiang Su Su smiled and said, “Da Jiejie always charms people in this way.”

“She is obviously a sly fox[3],” Shen Ming Zhu spat out. She turned around and noticed Jiang Li staring daggers at Jiang Ruan. She thought for a moment before saying, “Su’er Jiejie, I believe Jiang Li also hates her. Why don’t we help Jiang Li?”

[3] hu mei zi ( 狐媚子 ) – literally, a fox i.e. a woman who seduces by means of her attractive looks.

Jiang Su Su was startled. Then, she smiled and said, “How can you say this? You’d better not have any devious ideas. Da Jiejie has just returned home from the rural residence. If an incident were to occur, her reputation would be damaged. How could she conduct herself as a person with integrity in the capital after that?”

Shen Ming Zhu also smiled. “Su’er Jiejie has the heart of Buddha, but you clearly understand the situation as well as anyone else. Look, today, she deliberately wore this set of red clothing, isn’t it to steal the limelight from you? Knowing that you love to wear plain colours, yet wearing something so bright; I think she is provoking you. Su’er Jiejie, you cannot always be patient and accommodating.”

“This . . .” Jiang Su Su hesitated slightly. This hesitation caused Shen Ming Zhu to feel even more aggrieved, so she said, “Don’t worry, Su’er Jiejie, I will help you out.” Having said this, she waved at Jiang Li, who was sitting opposite them. “Jiang Li Jiejie!”

Jiang Li turned towards them with the air of someone who had been bestowed a favour by a superior, and walked over to Shen Ming Zhu . Among the young ladies from the illustrious families in the capital, the shu daughters and the di daughters were actually divided into two separate social circles. Although Jiang Li did her utmost to win the favour of Shen Ming Zhu, Shen Ming Zhu was only close to Jiang Su Su, so Jiang Li could only be jealous. Now, Jiang Li smiled in response to Shen Ming Zhu taking the initiative to greet her, even though she knew that there must be some hidden intention.

Disdain flashed in Shen Ming Zhu’s eyes momentarily, but her smile was sweet as she crooked her little finger at Jiang Li. “Jiang Li Jiejie, I have something I want to talk to you about in private.”

Jiang Li bent her ear towards Shen Ming Zhu, who proceeded to mutter a few words. Jiang Li’s face took on an astonished expression, which was then replaced by hesitation as she looked at Jiang Su Su sitting to the side. Jiang Su Su had her head bowed as she drank her tea with her usual smile on her face. It was impossible to discern how she was feeling.

“Jiang Li Jiejie, what do you think?” As Shen Ming Zhu looked at Jiang Li, her tone became even more tender and persuasive. “I am doing this all for you.”

Jiang Li was silent for quite a while. Finally, she bit her lips and said, “All right. Many thanks for your help, Ming Zhu meimei.”

Shen Ming Zhu giggled as she pulled Jiang Li’s hand so that she sat down beside her. “This being the case, let’s talk some more.”

Jiang Li paused before complying. The two of them huddled together and whispered to each other.

As they were doing this, Jiang Su Su simply sat at the side, drinking her tea with bowed head, as if she had no idea what Shen Ming Zhu and Jiang Li were doing. The only movement she made was to glance at Jiang Ruan in the distance just as Jiang Li sat down. Her eyes bore a hint of ruthlessness.

However, she had not anticipated that the very moment she looked at Jiang Ruan, Jiang Ruan would turn her head slightly, as if feeling the weight of her glance. Their eyes met, and Jiang Ruan smiled faintly at her. Even though Jiang Ruan’s upturned eyes were smiling, Jiang Su Su felt a cold shiver run down her back. When she looked again, Jiang Ruan had already turned away, and it was as if nothing had ever happened.